A state purchasing regulator whom Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner now claims is heavily influenced by Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan was recommended for the post by the governor’s office, according to an email obtained by The Associated Press on Friday.

Chief Procurement Officer Ellen Daley , who is at the center of a storm over a canceled $12.5 million Rauner administration contract, responded to the criticism Friday, telling The Associated Press: “I am neither influenced nor biased by politics.”

Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool resigned Friday, becoming the second district leader appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to leave office amid allegations of wrongdoing.

Claypool was accused of orchestrating a “full-blown cover-up” by the district inspector general, who called for the CEO’s ouster in a blistering report given to the school board Wednesday. Emanuel staunchly defended his longtime ally for two days, but after Claypool met with all six board members Thursday, sources said it was clear he did not have their full support.

In a stunning turnabout, city of Chicago lawyers settled a lawsuit Friday in the midst of closing arguments at a civil trial into whether a police code of silence allowed a Chicago cop to drive drunk without fear of consequences when he killed two young men in a fiery crash on the Dan Ryan Expressway.

The development came as the lawyer for one of the victims of the 2009 wreck neared the end of a blistering closing argument in U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall’s packed courtroom.

CTA riders should think twice before nodding off on the L.

Otherwise, they might wake to find themselves stranded on an empty train in a rail yard.

In a Chicago where City Hall is desperate for new revenue and developers are delighted to provide it—in exchange for a fatter bottom line, of course—there’s little percentage in standing in front of the bulldozers and saying no.

Still, some try. They even believe in things such as fire-safety setbacks, trees and grass, and not trying to cram too much building into too little space. Which leads to a story about the steady paving over of much of Lakeview and other North Side hoods, and a public agency that apparently has abandoned its mission, having approved 99 percent of requests for zoning variances last year.

Mount Prospect restaurateurs told the village board this week they would like to offer video gambling.

“We’re currently operating in a business environment that is becoming increasingly challenging,” said Spiro Kondos, owner of Draft Picks, 912 Busse Road, citing rising labor, food and insurance costs and taxes.

The increase in the city’s amusement tax, from 2 percent to 3 percent in 2018, is expected to raise almost half a million dollars next year for a cash-strapped city.

But it’s not raising spirits at Landmark Recreation Center, 3225 N. Dries Lane.